Chang and Ko Chang

My sincere apologies for the distinct lack of updates since (pretty much) arriving into Thailand. The first 4 days I was concerning myself with not becoming involved in any terrorism. The next week or so my main focus was the gastorintestinal terrorism that I was battling and for the last 4 or 5 days I've been busy terrorising people with my new partner in crime, Anders. Yesterday was the first day riding with Mr. Dan Riegler who will be my associate for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Even though he had only arrived at midnight before and must have had terrible jet lag he seems to be tackling everything with an encouraging and infectious enthusiasm (not that I've been lacking enthusiasm; how can you not be enthusiastic when your biggest challenge of the day is whether to opt for a Chang or a Singha and which beach to do so on).
Today we have about 30 or 40 more km until we reach the town of Takua Pa...or perhaps its Takuapa...or Taquapa. The signs can't seem to agree. In any case, we will most likely stop there so as not to punish poor Dan too much and then tomorrow we must decide whether to head inland and visit the jungle-clad karsts of Khao Sak national park or head north along the coast to the laid-back (i.e. no electricity) islands of Ko Chang and Ko Phayang.
About two more weeks in Thailand should see us visiting Chumpon before riding up the east coast and then northwards towards Chang Mai before crossing into Laos and then turning back south to work our way (relatively speaking) down the Mekong.
A couple things have me a bit worried about the longevity of the trip at this point. For one thing the time on the road seems to finally be taking tis toll on my gear. The bicycle is mostly holding up really well (knock on wood). Brake hoods are starting to disintegrate but still function and the drivetrain seems to be working well. Plus I still have a whole extra drivetrain! The moths appear to be enjoying the flavor of my wool shirt and riding shorts so I'll soon be riding in tatters, which honestly only befits a man who looks like I do in every other regard. In addition to that one of the clips on my Ortlieb pannier has cracked. I don't really blame the company or their worksmanship as much as I blame Belgian beer and slippery, dark roads (a couple impacts on ANY brand pannier can't be good for its mounting hardware).
Aside from my keeping my fingers crossed that my gear can hold out for another 4 or 5 months of abuse there is the issue of my dental care. I really wanted to get my wisdom teeth removed before coming on the trip but UNC's dental school turned me down (claiming it wasn't a big enough thing for them to bother teaching their students!?) and I didn't quite want to fork over 500 bucks or whatever to my dentist. Now my back left molar is "erupted" (I think thats the term, but I'm no dentist). It has been this way for most the trip but didn't bother me until now. We'll see how that develops.
The last thing I am keeping a careful eye on is the financial situation. Since I still haven't bothered to stop and try to make some money (aside from the Croatian fiasco which was never going to provide income anyways) I am starting to get down to the bottom of the honey pot, so to speak. Here in SE Asia things are cheap enough that I should be able to do Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and still have enough money to fly back to the US. This is also dependent on what old Uncle Sam demands I pay him come April and whether the airline wants to charge for my bicycle this time across. I feel confident that if I can just get back to the US I will be able to make a little side cash and get myself back across. The trick is getting back to the US.
In any case, these are all things that I have little to no control over so I try not to worry about them all that much. Mostly I just focus on where that next cold drink and shady spot on the beach is!